Falling into Destiny
by Centurious The Azure
Summary: NOL Lieutenant Daisuke Ikari of the Peacekeeper Corps knew should've minded his own business that night. Damn his sense of justice... Now he's being dragged into a fight beyond his imagining. What's a newly minted posterboy to do?


**Falling into Destiny**

**Prologue: Why'd I open up my big mouth?**

Disclaimer: If I owned Arc System Works or anything having to do with the source material, god knows I'd already have a copy of Continuum Shift Extend, Persona 4 Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena would already have solid release date for the US of A, and possibly a gold plated version of Bloodedge hanging on my wall. I'd name it Blingedge.

The young man sighed... This was the last thing he needed. He was hungry, and tired from the journey over. He smelled the scent of his stir fry cooking in the restaurant's kitchen. The nice dinner he was expecting to have with his family was completely ruined. This made him very, very angry. He was used to this type of shit on duty. Punks and other disorderly sods ruining law abiding citizen's days. He had to put a number of them in their places. That was his job as an officer of the law. To serve and protect. It was as simple as that. It wasn't everyday that he got a internationally known criminal on his hands. And bounty hunters chomping at the bit to get his very worth while bounty.

NOL Peacekeeper, Second Lieutenant Daisuke Ikari, glared at the gaggle of stupid looking bastards crowding around a man wearing a gaudy red leather jacket. All fingering their weapons with anticipation. That same kind of preditory aura beasts got before they made a fresh kill. The man sporting the red coat grabbed at the thin, black handle of the weapon strapped to his back. The messy whited haired man expessed the same displeasure Daisuke had on his face. There was a certain amount of ferocity in his eyes. These men were wolves... All burly Alpha male douche bags with something to prove. This guy... The look in his red and green eyes sparkled with joy. Absolute confidence. Assurance the five guys in front of him were meat. These guys had no chance in hell.

Maybe he should've just sat there and minded his own damned business. Enjoy the show. He wasn't on duty. Why bother? If Daisuke were slightly more concerned with his own life. And didn't completely give a shit. He might not have gotten himself into a whole different stew of fucked up. He rose from his seat. He felt a hand on his. His mother's soft hands grabbed at him. Practically begging him with her worried blue gray eyes not to do this. He merely looked at his mother with a soft smile and nod. Reassurance he knew what he what he was going to get himself into. Daisuke didn't know how much trouble he was gonna be diving into.

Daisuke called to the group in a cool and commanding voice. "Oi... Break up this shit. Me and my family are trying to eat here."

"The fuck you just say, kid?" One of the macho idiots brandishing a large club turned to him, breaking off from the group. He grabbed his collar. The man's bad breath smelled of alcohol and cigarettes. Daisuke winced slightly at the oder as the man acosted him. "You'd better back off if ya know what's good for ya, little shit. We're the peacekeepers here. Can't you see we're trying to take in a wanted criminal? Don'tcha know who the fuck this guy is? He's ack-"

Suddenly, the man's breathing was cut off. A swift blow to the wind pipe left the man gasping for air. He was on the ground when he followed up with a punch to the gut. His boot ended up on the Vigilante's throat, pinning him to the ground. He regarded the man with indifference as he eyed the rest of his crew threateningly. "I know all too well..." He said evenly, gesturing casually to the man in red. "Ragna the Bloodedge... The man with the trillion dollar bounty on his head. Accused of raiding NOL installations all by himself and killing every single NOL officer stationed there before raising the place to the ground." His cold, expressionless face contorted into an amused smile. "The artist's rendering really doesn't do you justice..." He chuckled lightly. "You don't look nearly as constipated. What happened, Mr. Reaper? Did they catch you while you were trying to get to the bathroom?"

"Something lik-" Ragna caught himself saying something incriminating. "Look... That friggin' doesn't matter." He scowled at the newcomer, not nearly as amused by his jab. "Who the hell are you anyway?"

"How rude of me..." Daisuke smiled wryly. His mock apologetic tone craked its way into his authoriative voice. He gave a jaunty two fingered salute. "I'm Lieutenant Daisuke Ikari of Novus Orbis Librarium's 23rd Peacekeeper division based in the 8th Hierarchical City of Soryusen. I was on leave spending time with my mum until your friends here decided to start a ruckus. I guess they couldn't pay the bill with the small change they had so they decided to pay with your blood instead..." He shrugged, taking his boot off of the passed out bounty man's throat. "Being a bounty hunter is tough these days in this recession if they're willing to risk death to fight you."

He could feel Ragna's killing intent lock onto him. It was as if he didn't see the Vigilantes anymore. They backed away slowly and nervously. He snorted disdainfully, rolling his two red and green eyes. "You talk a lot... Don't tell me you wanna fight, pig?"

"Not really..." Daisuke shook his head and sighed. "I am bound by duty to protect and serve. Being in public service can be such a pain in the ass. I don't suppose you'll come with me peacefully? Sleep the night off in a cell and then breakout when dawn comes? I really just wanna eat, go home, take a big dump, and get to sleep with my bowls intact. Think you could do me that small favor, Ragna?"

Ragna seemed puzzled. He seemed like he was pondering his options. Uneasiness flooded the room already chaotic setting, creating a frozen tableau. The temprature almost seemed to drop. What happened next determined everyone's fates. Daisuke's offer was totally genuine. He honestly didn't want to die. Daisuke knew he didn't have a prayer against a monster like the Bloodedge. How could a single police officer go against a guy who could wipe out entire small armies by himself? If he still had his Nox Nyctores the NOL lent him for his service during the conflict in Ikaruga... That only halfed his chances of survival. Daisuke knew his odds. He knew his skills. Despite the confident facade he fronted, he was completely scared out of his mind. These punks were nothing in compairson to him. Ragna, though... He was enough of a veteran to be able to size up his opponents and tell their strength at a glance. Ragna the Bloodedge was at an entirely different plateau than him. Another universe of strength. Daisuke was stardust. Ranga was a red giant. He killed the lump rising in his throat. He was definently going to die here. Damn his...

"Hey, assholes!" Ragna called out, becoming a blur of red and black. He hopped through the front window of the restaurant, the sound of breaking glass firing off the starter for the race. Vanishing into the panicked crowds flooding the streets. His fanclub decided to decided to follow. All the patrons didn't know what to make of it. All was silence for a long moment until one of the patrons pipped up.

"We're saved!"

"Yeah! I can't believe it! You scared that monster off!" Another patron excitably hollered.

The entire room was ecstatic with chatter. People he didn't even know came up to him, and clapped him on the back and shook his hand. Daisuke was simply dumb founded. The entire time, he stood there acting robotically. Not at all entirely aware of the fact that he was still breathing.

"That's my son!" He heard his mom praise him, throwing an arm around his shoulder. "The Hero of the family! Y'know, my Daisuke is a veteran of the Ikaruga Conflict. He came back home without a single scratch on him. If anything, he should be the Hero of Ikaruga! Not that Kisaragi boy!"

His mother whispered in his ear. Finally jarring him awake from his stupor. "Shouldn't you call this in, Dai?"

"Uh... Y-yeah!" Daisuke wriggled away from his charges into the back. He found the phone and dialed up the local command center. He stood on spagetti legs. His voice was almost incoherent. "H-hey, Operator! You won't believe this!"

He felt a clamy hand on his shoulder, and almost jumped out of his skin. He looked back at a face half hidden by the brim of a tilted downward jet black fedora. A thin smirk was all he could make out of the man's face. The joyful voice of the man rang through his ears. His hand adjusted his hat to reveal bright, sickly yellow eyes regarding his shaken state with an almost sick pleasure. "Let me call that in, m'boy. Name's Hazama. I'm the Captain of the Librarium's Intelligence Division. I saw that entire thing go down..." If it were at all possible, that smile got thinner. Much more devious. "I can already tell you're gonna go far, kid..."

Daisuke already knew he was in the snake's coils. What happened next to the prey was entirely left up to the predator...

Author's notes:

Welcome to Daisuke's worst nightmare. Dude can't seem to catch a break in any of my stories. *evil chuckle*

Almost forgot I had this... I decided to post this on a whim, pretty much. I dunno when I'm gonna get back to this. School is starting up soon. I'm not sure how much time I'll have to work on anything outside of it. If you enjoyed this start: Please read and review. If this story pumps up good numbers, I might try to put this on my priority list of fics. Enjoy readers. I know I enjoyed writing it. Hope you do, too.


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